Police will not tolerate unauthorized use of motorbikes

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) James Abass Abaa, Deputy Eastern Regional Police Commander, has expressed worry about the practice of some supporters of political parties to use their motorbikes to impede movements of their presidential candidates.

He said the police would no longer tolerate that practice where the motorbike riders, who operate without permits, made security and crowd control difficult.

The deputy commander noted that in their excitement, they use the motorbikes without licenses or registration and helmets which posed danger to the public.

He said the police, in line with ensuring peace and a violent free election, would not tolerate that action.

ACP Abaa was speaking at the end of a five-day Public Order Management Course for selected personnel from the region for the establishment of Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) of the Regional Police Command and a simulation exercise to showcase their preparedness to ensure peace before, during and after the general election.

Participants at the programme would be expected to take high risk duties such as demonstration, riot and crowd control.

He urged the public to cooperate with them since they were not interested in brutalizing people but to ensure the safety and protection of lives and property.

ACP Abaa said the personnel of the RPF had been taken through non-lethal manner of handling difficult situations that were synonymous with elections and campaigns such as dispersing crowd under any circumstances and the amount of force to be used at every given event.

He said the police had taken into account experiences of the previous elections and events that had happened and had empowered its personnel, especially of the RPF and cautioned all saboteurs and people who were only interested in fomenting trouble that the police would not allow them to have their way.